DELUXE
PEOPLE
You have to have experienced for yourself at least once what it is like to ride up one
of the Island’s serpentine mountain roads on a racing bike on a hot spring day,
rounding bend after bend, to begin to understand how many years of hard, consistent
training are required to conquer the Tour de France. Eight times. This experience has
turned former professional cyclist Jan Ullrich into one of the best-known ambassadors
for his sport, following his retirement in 2007. When the German rider and his family
moved to Mallorca in 2016, no-one was surprised. The Island offers perfect conditions
for cyclists and Ullrich knows the routes well from his career days. In recent years
he has run successful workshops here, too. His clients include passionate cyclists from
all over the world and also entrepreneurs for whom annual cycle training is just part
of their career management. Physical fitness is just one part of it, for some of the
routes you need mental stamina, too. The tours are matched to the individual ability
of the riders, who can choose to focus on scenic or culinary routes.
Herr Ullrich, you moved to Mallorca last year.
Why did you decide to do this?
During my racing career and even afterwards,
with my cycling events, I spent a lot of time in
Mallorca. I always felt very comfortable on this
beautiful Island. So last year we decided to
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take the plunge and we moved the whole
family here. The weather and the perfect con-
ditions for cycling were of course among the
reasons. But above all we wanted to give our
children the chance to get to know a new
country and to learn a number of languages
quite naturally. We have found ourselves a
new home near Palma, on the edge of the
Tramuntana Mountains. It is within easy reach
of the children’s school, Palma and lots of
wonderful training routes.
For years you came to Mallorca to train for
races and now you offer training camps here
yourself. What makes the Island so perfect for
professional cyclists?
First of all, Mallorca enjoys really good
weather. Added to that Palma airport means
people can fly in from all over the world.
Conditions for cycling are simply ideal. There
are any number of good training routes, flat
and also really mountainous, which is im-
portant when you are preparing yourself for
the season ahead. The infrastructure is also
good – lots of hotels, cafés and restaurants that
are geared towards cyclists. The locals are
also very tolerant of cyclists on their roads.
Are there particular routes that you would
recommend to amateur cyclists?
Personally I like to stick to the interior of the
Island for the first few days and I do the same
with my clients. The routes there are flat and
slightly undulating, perfect for acclimatising